Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola

8 reviews

anapthine's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Classism, Violence, and Slavery

highladymagnus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Classism, Cursing, Police brutality, Excrement, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Child death, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent and Racism

yunuspapilio's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child death, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Confinement, Alcohol, Colonisation, Addiction, and Alcoholism

sehwa's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

I picked up this book in the library because the cover was beautiful and the synopsis sounded interesting. Sometimes, it's good to judge a book by its cover! Anna has a beautiful writing style throughout the book. I really took to madeline and veronique as characters, they were lovely. Every character has their own tragic back story which fit with the times. The mystery parts of this book were very good, it keeps you on your toes guessing until near the end of the book. However, I really loved the unlikely friendships that grew in such horrible circumstances. 
Overall, it was a very well rounded story with a good murder/mystery element to it. I definitely think it's worth the read if you like darker subjects :) 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pregnancy, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Slavery, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

alireads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Murder, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pedophilia, Police brutality, Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Vomit

ophelia_autumn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.75

 Overall, this was a fascinating read - 18th century Paris historical fiction that doesn't shy away from the cruel realities of the time: the squalor and the destitution, even the creepy secrets and fecal smells behind the palaces and the nobles. Even though I'm French, I learnt a few facts from this book, like an old-fashioned word in French and that there used to be something called the Samaritaine before La Samaritaine shop was created!
Let's talk about the three points of view - Madeleine, the astute prostitute / maid / spy, Véronique, the ingenious bourgeois teenager, Jeanne, Madame de Pompadour aka Louis XV's mistress. Although I wasn't fully convinced at the very beginning, I was soon won over by the different voices as they represented 3 parallel viewpoints from different perspectives on society, and in general I like the variety of characters. The common theme of women, poor people and non-white characters being trapped in the web of unfair people in an unfair world was well-crafted.
In this world, beauty seems a mask, a glamour, the machines created by Reinhart and his daughter a fascinating example of the liminality between the beautiful and the ugly, but also the living and the dead, another main theme. As someone who used to work in robotics, I liked to read about the machines as well as the characters discussing ethical points and science.
(Also, reading about clockwork machines and Madame de Pompadour woke up my Whovian radar, The Girl in the Fireplace, anyone?)
What I liked less: I wanted to feel more connection with the characters, I felt that all of them could have been explored more, especially Joseph and

his relationship with Madeleine

. I felt that Madeleine was incredibly brave, yet the scenes where she tries to spy and then report back were unsatisfying as they felt underwhelming and repetitive, for the first half of the book or so. Yet, the author portrayed Madeleine's shift from powerlessness to being an agent of her own life quite well, I just wished it would have been done earlier in the book.
I was sad that it seemed OK that so many animals were being killed for the sake of the anatomical or automation experiments, I know this was the status quo then, and still now, and seemed historically accurate, but I wish this has been explored more ethically, even though there were moments when Madeleine and Joseph were also uncomfortable with this.
I guessed a few plot twists but it didn't prevent me from appreciating the story and the atmosphere.

I want to thank Anna Mazzola and Orion publishing group for giving me an ARC version of the book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley :) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

Moderate: Death, Trafficking, Racism, Animal death, Sexism, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Sexual violence, Torture, Pregnancy, and Slavery

lucymosscrop's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Child death, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery

natashaleighton_'s review

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Sexual violence, Murder, Slavery, Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse